Head over Heart
by dobrevsdream
Summary: Felicity Smoak an ordinary girl living an extraordinary life. An Olicity story which mostly follows the natural path of what is happening currently on the show
1. Fight Training 101

**Authors note**: I'm literally following the time frame portrayed on the last nights episode of Arrow (2x07) so this chapter is the day after. I hope you enjoy it. I'lll shut up now and leave you to read.

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The sound of an alarm ringing from the desktop table stirred Felicity from her sleep, groaning she turned onto her left side before reaching for her phone and disabling it. She let her heavy eyelids draw as she fell into a deeper level of unconsciousness the exhaustion from yesterday's adrenaline crash still pulling her down. The sound of loud ringing jolted her out of her sleep abruptly, grumbling incoherently she reached for her phone squinting at the screen to see the caller ID which read "Oliver Queen."

"Where are you?" he asked brusquely the moment she answered the call.

"Good morning to you too," she commented groggily as she leaned forwards in her bed, propping herself onto her elbow.

"You were supposed to meet me ten minutes ago. Where are you?"

Detecting the "no nonsense" tone to his voice she decided to go with a little white lie…just this once. "Oliver, I was about to text you…I'm not feeling too good today. I got up to come and meet you but felt worse for wear, I'm probably coming down with something so if we could reschedule for—"

"You have twenty minutes to come down here to meet me or so help me god Felicity," his voice rang out cutting her off in mid-sentence.

"You didn't even let me finish! I told you that I'm ill," she told him putting more force behind her lie hoping she sounded more convincing than she felt.

"You're a terrible liar, Miss Smoak. You now have eighteen minutes." The amusement in his voice was evident even from the other end of the line.

"Oliver I'm serious. I really don't feel like doing this today," she told him honestly.

A brief pause.

"Felicity," he said his voice sounding softer but the hint of exasperation still present. "You saw what almost happened to you last night and I'm not about to take any risks. Not when it comes to your life. I can't expect you to continue doing what we do without at least teaching you basic self-defence skills."

Sensing the determination in his voice she rolled her eyes despite fully knowing that he couldn't see her. "Fine, but you have to promise to go easy on me."

"You now have fifteen minutes." And with that the line went dead.

Felicity stared at her phone feeling mildly frustrated, she knew he had a point but the feeling of having to be trained to fight didn't appeal to her. In fact, she preferred running in the opposite direction in the case of a fight—wasn't that the basic survivors' instinct? If it came down to fight or flight, she would gladly choose flight a million times over but she knew she wouldn't win this one and if it put Oliver and Diggles' mind at ease who was she to argue? Groaning she threw herself back into her bed lying facing the ceiling for a while before her phone buzzed indicating she had received a text message.

'_Get out of bed. Ten minutes.'_

Despite herself, Felicity felt a playing on her lips as she dragged herself out of bed her mind relentlessly wondering about what she'd let herself in for.

…

Felicity jumped out of her car pulling her jacket tighter around her, feeling herself trembling all over from the weather or perhaps it was because of the feeling of anxiety that had settled over her chest. Pushing open the door to Oliver's club she walked in making her way to the arrow cave. Typing the code she unlocked the door and reluctantly stepped in. Her eyes scanned the place until she spotted him; he was sitting at her desk drumming his hands against the edge appearing deep in thought. Sensing her presence, he snapped out of his daydream turning his attention towards her.

"You're late."

"You're lucky I came," she retorted the sound of her trainers squeaking against the polished floor filling the silence as she made her way to him. Dumping the bag she was carrying onto the table she stood before him facing him. "Where do you want me?"

Pulling himself to his feet Oliver stalked towards his training area and pointed towards his push up bars on the ceiling. She felt her chest tighten as she gaped at him her mouth ajar, her facial features must have conveyed the same amount of horror as she felt as he let out a small chuckle shaking his head. Realising he had been pulling her leg she crossed her arms giving him a look of defiance.

He crossed the room standing before a blue safety mat placed on the floor beckoning her over. "We're going to start with easy routine defence moves. When in a confrontation you need to strike for the most sensitive part of the body," he explained stalking over so that he was standing immediately in front of her his proximity sending her slightly dizzy.

"The groin?" she queried before she could stop herself feeling the hot surge of blood rushing to her face.

"Yes places like the groin is a great target," he responded neutrally but she could have sworn that the corner of his lips tugged upwards slightly into the hint of a smile, but it disappeared as quickly as it had emerged so she concluded that she had imagined it. It was the less humiliating option.

"Places like the neck or the shin are also sensitive to impact. Try it," he added.

"You want me to hit you?!" she exclaimed her eyes wide. "What if I hurt you?"

"Felicity, I think I've dealt with a lot worse don't you think?" he retorted with a small laugh.

Narrowing her eyes at him she struck out aiming for his nose but just as her fist was inches away from his face he caught it trapping it into his own grip. Her eyes widened momentarily before trying to pull her arm back but he held it firmly in his own.

"You don't want to go for the face, not unless you're prepared for a full blown fight. The purpose for the time being is to harm your opponent ergo giving you enough time to escape. This time we will do a sequence. Pretend as if I'm actually trying to hurt you."

He then released her hand letting his own fall to his side again as he nodded at her to try again. Taking a deep breath she calculated her next move, there was no way she was going anywhere near his groin. Not in a million years. With her luck she would probably get her foot stuck or something. Felicity quickly struck out at his neck hitting his jugular and felt mildly satisfied when he looked momentarily surprised at the force she'd used. Swinging out her left hand she attempted to punch his abdomen but when he caught her hand she drew back her foot kicking him in the shin. Oliver in turn caught a hold of both of her upper arms. Her leg flew out to deliver another blowing kick but he released her right arm just in time to catch her foot. Caught off guard she froze knowing what he was about to do. He tugged at her foot slightly causing for her to topple over onto the mat as she lost her balance. He followed, dropping onto the mat into a position where he was trapping her body with his own. She lay flat on her back on the mat staring up at Oliver who had encaged her with his legs that were on either side of her thighs and his arms on the mat on the level of her head. Staring up at him, she blushed suddenly feeling extremely self-aware. She knew she was supposed to throw him off balance and escape but it was as if she had frozen. All sense abandoned her mind. She swallowed nervously before catching his gaze locking eyes with his bright blue eyes feeling as like every nerve in her body was on fire. They stayed like that for half a beat longer than necessary frozen in time until the sound of a phone ringing from afar brought them back into the present causing Oliver to spring away from her before quickly pulling himself to his feet.

"Not bad," he coughed awkwardly offering her his hand to pull her up.

Accepting his hand she allowed him to help her stand upright feeling her chest tighten and her airways constrict. This couldn't be happening, she couldn't possibly be feeling this way for Oliver. He was her boss for goodness sake! Not to mention the very messy dynamic he had with Laurel whom he was still in love with. No, there was no need to complicate anything. Oliver was just her friend; things had just gotten momentarily heated. A fluke.

"I should get going. I'm meeting with my sister today," she explained heading for her stuff. "Do you need me this evening?"

"No, uh…I mean uh, yes you can take the night off."

She turned to glance at him her brow furrowing slightly, his behaviour was extremely peculiar of him. She had never seen Oliver Queen behaving in any manner that wasn't calm and calculated, wasn't she the supposed to be socially awkward one out of the two of them? He must have noticed her expression as he coughed once more before collecting himself together.

"Have fun tonight Felicity, and do continue working on your self-defence techniques."

Smiling at him warmly once more she dashed for the door letting out a breath of relief the moment she was out of the room. She could feel her heart frantically slamming against her chest as she covered her face in exasperation. Having any kind of romantic feeling towards Oliver would lead to no good she knew that but who would inform her heart of that? Sighing she placed her bag on her shoulder before making a beeline out of the club.

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**Author's note:** Can't we make a petition to have a scene in which Oliver is teaching Felicity to fight? Seriously?! Anyhow, I hope you like it. I'm not entirely sure if I'm going to do drabbles or make it a continuous story - whichever you lovely readers prefer to be honest. I haven't decided yet but I do know that if I continue with this, the next chapter will contain Barry and a jealous Oliver.

Please leave reviews, I read them all and they provide me motivation to keep on writing this as I know there's people out there actually reading things. Thanks :))


	2. Head vs Heart

**Note**: This takes place after they meet Barry but before Oliver get's injected by the miracle serum.

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Oliver's pov: 

Oliver walks into the office at around 8 o'clock in the evening after a long day of fighting the city's crimes. Feeling of exhaustion mixed with the adrenaline that was yet to wear off created a jittery feeling in his body making him feel slightly unstable.

"Where is Felicity?" he questioned Diggle as he walked into the office giving the empty desk adjacent to his a brief glance.

"Not sure," Diggle shrugged nonchalantly before adding, "somewhere with that Barry kid no doubt."

A cold feeling settled over him, of course she'd be with him. He had seen the way she had looked at him which had for some unknown bothered him. It wasn't that he didn't want her to be happy; it was the fact that he didn't trust Barry. Irritably he took his seat before commencing to sort out the paperwork Isabel had been bothering him about for the past three weeks. Picking up his pen he mused to himself. Sighing, he leaned back on his chair before turning to face Diggle who was watching a movie on his iPad.

"Do you think that we ought to keep an eye on whoever this Barry is?" he asked after a brief pause.

"Not particularly no," he responded before returning his attention to the screen.

"I just—" Oliver pauses for a moment considering the best approach. "I don't trust him, that's all," he finished off to which Diggle responded to with a chuckle.

"What?" he quizzed narrowing his eyes daringly.

Placing the iPad onto the glass desk, Diggle turned to face him with a hint of amusement playing on his lips. "It's been a very long night Oliver so I'm going to be blunt. Does Barry bother you because you think there's more to him than meets the eye, or is it really the fact that you can't stand to see Felicity interested in someone else."

"Don't be absurd Dig, when have you ever seen me acting like a jealous high school boy?"

"Never," Diggle agreed with a casual shrug. "But love can make you do crazy things," he concluded before picking up his iPad and resuming to watch the film leaving Oliver speechless and mildly agitated.

**Later that night**

Oliver watched as Felicity crashed in through the doors carrying a large book with one hand, and her woolly grey scarf on the other. Dumping what she was carrying onto her desk, she brushed a hand through her windswept hair a small smile playing on her lips.

"Someone looks like they've had a good night," he commented trying to sound as neutral despite the constricting feeling in his chest.

Glancing up at him her smile broadened, her cheeks turning crimson. "I did," was all she said shyly which was very uncharacteristic of her.

An unsettling feeling of envy and unease washed over him, a feeling which had previously been alien to him. Until now. Diggles words echoed at the back of his mind which he immediately dismissed out of his thoughts. Coughing he pushing himself up off from his chair walking around to the front of his desk where he perched himself onto it. The office was empty apart from the two of them; Diggle had bailed out and gone home early tonight leaving Oliver alone to sort out the last files left.

"What are you doing here so late?"

"I came to grab my laptop," she retorted picking up a pink case and holding it up into the air. "Aha!"

Noticing the sombre expression on his face she lowered the case her features contorting to a look of concern. "Is everything allright?"

Jolting out of his thoughts he pushes himself up off the edge of the table standing upright before giving her a small smile. "Everything is fine."

She took delicate steps towards him until she stood in front of him, cocking her head to the side she observed him with an unconvinced expression. "Are you sure?"

"I'm fine," he laughed placing a reassuring hand on her upper arm. Noticing the way her brow creased he knew she wouldn't let this issue go. "I'm serious Felicity, everything is okay. Go home," he added.

Grabbing the scarf out of her hand he wrapped it around her neck before absently tugging her towards him in doing so until their proximity became suffocating. Oliver stood without moving holding the ends of the scarf in both of his hands unsure of the next move make. He wasn't entirely sure what had gotten into him in the past few days, he hadn't felt this out of control since the awkward encounter during their training session. Felicity stood before him with her mouth slightly ajar looking as if he had caught her off guard. A horn sounds from outside the dark street causing them both to jump apart and glance awkwardly at the windows and out into the street.

"That's uh Barry—he said he'd take me home," she says hesitantly after a moment but it takes her half a beat than necessary to move away to grab her belongings. Oliver briefly considers to himself how and when things had gotten this tense with Felicity.

"You should be careful with this Barry," he calls out after her. She stops, turning to face him her brow furrowing together. "If he lied to you about something as simple as his identity he could easily lie about anything else," he adds silently criticising himself for sounding excruciatingly petty.

Felicity's face drops the glow of happiness that had radiated her when she first walked in dissipating causing Oliver to feel a mild surge of guilt.

"Do you know what Oliver," she says her voice controlled but firm. "If you have a problem, and by that I mean if you have a legitimate reasoning as to why you don't want me to go out with Barry then say so and say it now."

The frustration and annoyance was clear as day in the tone of her voice along with her tense stance but he sees the glimmer of hope in her eyes.

"There's no problem." He said after a brief pause. "I just want you to be careful."

"Right," she retorted her voice sounding small. "Well thanks for the tip. Night," and with that she disappeared out of the door and down the corridor.

Turning to face his desk, Oliver grabs a folder lying on his desk throwing it across the room in anger before closing his eyes tightly in exasperation and running his hands through his hair. He knew the exact words Felicity had been waiting for him to say, but the words wouldn't come. He had no idea what was happening to him, up until recently he had never thought of her as anything but platonic. His life with complicated as it was without the added problems of starting something potentially important with Felicity. Not to mention his feelings for Laurel. Sighing he dragged his hands across his face his mind wandering relentlessly. What almost happened with Felicity would never occur again. He couldn't afford to hurt and ergo lose her.

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**Author's note:** First of all, thank you to everyone who followed this story and most of all thank you to those of you who left reviews. You motivate me to continue writing this fic so I hope this chapter does you justice. It's rare that I'll do a chapter from Oliver's point of view purely because this will predominately be things from Felicity's view - but I thought it was important to highlight Oliver's confusion which I think is happening on the show too. I had to rush this one a bit because of other commitments so I hope it isn't too crappy.

Anyhow, you know the drill - please leave me your reviews. Oliver's pov: yay or nay? Ideas of what you would like for me to explore that you think relate to the show too.


	3. Fight or Flight

Felicity sped down the corridor with her nails digging into the palm of her hands as she felt as if she could explode with frustration. Her breath became ragged and her pulse spiked as her blood pressure rose by several increments. Oliver had almost kissed her then, she was so sure of it and to her dismay she had been about to let him. So much for keeping their relationship platonic she thought to herself bitterly. She'd let him get into her head, she had a habit of letting him do that. No matter how much she cared for Oliver as a friend, deep down she truly knew that she would never ever be able to compete with Laurel Lance who was his equivalence of Juliet, the thought made her scoff but she caught herself abruptly. Nope. Not a chance. She wasn't going to be one of those girls who droned on after a man who wasn't interested, and she didn't want to jeopardise the relationship she had with Diggle and Ollie. Sighing, she got into the lift her hands lingering on the scarf Oliver had used to pull her closer to him. Turning bright red at the memory she shook her head in order to clear out her mind, the elevator ringed as it reached its destination the doors opening wide.

Stepping out of the elevator she set off down the corridor the only sound filling the eerie silence being the clink of her heels against the floor. It wasn't until she had reached the end of the hall that she realised that she had gotten off at the wrong level, nervously tucking in a loose strand of hair behind her ears she turned around glancing down the way she had come trying to figure out exactly where she was. The lights up ahead began flickering sending an involuntary shiver down her spine as she became rigid.

"Deep breaths, this isn't a horror movie. Keep walking. Deep breaths," she told herself frantically as her voice became pitchy. Fumbling in her bag she pulled out her mobile phone trying to decide whether or not she should message Oliver who was only a few floors above and who would be much more useful in the case of a crisis or Barry who was faithfully waiting for her outside. Her fear weighted towards Oliver whilst her pride chose Barry. Pride won.

During the process of dialling the overhead lights flickered off whilst there was a large cluttering sound towards her left. Felicity jumped a shrill shriek escaping her lips whilst simultaneously dropping her phone as a result. Breathing heavily she bent down to pick up her phone, feeling the ground blindly for her mobile her fingers trembling. The sound of breaking glass filled the room as she felt a sharp piercing on her skin, covering her face with her arms she pulled herself to her feet abandoning the phone. Kicking off her heels she shot down the corridor running with her heart in her mouth. She ran down the corridor squinting in the darkness the only source of light coming from a street light afar illuminating her path faintly. A gun shot filled the room just as Felicity took a right turn that caused the bullet to miss her mediastinum, instead the bullet nicked the side of her arm causing her to let out a yelp and grasp her arm with her good hand. Looking around frantically she ran towards the first office she saw only to find the door locked, swearing under her breath she continued down trying every single door as the sound of footsteps and bullets came closer. She silently thanked the gods above for the darkness as the chances were that the intruder would be just as disorientated as she was, unless they had super-sigh. The thought caused her heart to slam against her ribcage so wildly she was certain it would burst out of her chest.

_Oh god, super sight isn't a thing is it? It only happens in the movies and really bad comic books, right?! Right?! Felicity, focus!_

Finally a door she tried gave away leading her into a small box room, squeezing herself in she shut the door behind her. The sound of soft humming carried into the room from the outside causing a whimper to escape her lips, covering her mouth with her uninjured arm she pressed herself against the wall.

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**Author's note**: Okay so most of you probably read through this thinking "Okay, cool chapter but where is Oliver? Oliver?! HELLO WHERE IS OLIVER?!" I know, trust me I didn't intend this to be an Oliver-less chapter it just happened that way. Don't worry okay, you shall get your olicity fix sooner rather than later but I think it's time for Felicity to perhaps fight which I might explore in the next episode. Hmm, I wonder how she will get herself out of this one. (oh and the person after her will be relevant to the story and pushing it forwards).

I would yet again like to thank every one of you who left me reviews (I read them all as they come through to my phone), you are the reason for this update. The only reason I continue to write is because I know there are people out there who actually enjoy reading the waffle that comes out of my brains so thank you. Ya'll awesome! Please continue to leave me reviews, and hopefully I shall update very soon (i'll try my very best).

**PS. **Can we talk about that hug in the finale? Like woah, what a way to end the mid-season. I was a happy girl :))


	4. Inner Fighter

The sound of footsteps and soft humming seemed to be getting louder by the second, she wondered if the intruder knew precisely where she was hiding – with her luck he/she most likely did. She made an attempt to move and grab something usable but to her dismay she appeared to have frozen on the spot, as if her joints had solidified in the past ten seconds. The feeling of dread and horror swept over her like a tide making her feel dizzy with fear. _Where the hell was Oliver with his deadly arrows when she needed him?! _She thought to herself as she whispered every single form of prayer she could think of under her breath. She apologised to God above for becoming an accomplice in all kinds of murders and committing crimes of her own, hacking federal government systems?! Slippery slope. Whoever this psychopath was would most likely find her and shoot her down as a form of karma for all the laws she had broken. She wondered what her parents would say if they knew their daughter had become a criminal.

Swallowing hard she attempted to move again and this time succeeded, bending down she felt around until she found something that felt like a smooth metal pole under her fingers. It wasn't perfect but it would have to do. Holding the weapon with her uninjured arm she moved to take her position behind the door holding her breath as the door creaked open, she wondered for a wild moment whether or not she would yet again become frozen by her fear. If that was the case then she would wind up dead, no arguments. The door creaked open a fraction more and a very faint light illuminated the middle of the room making the figure of the person entering slightly more visible. The moment the door opened she brought the metal pole down, _hard_. The sound of a gunshot being fired ripped through the air causing her ears to ring loudly; as the figure dropped down onto their knees she made a bee-line towards the door only to be caught by the ankle and pulled back into the room. Squealing she brought her left foot down kicking blindly into where she thought the person may be and when the sound of a grunt escaped the lips of the intruder followed by a clattering sound of the gun dropping, she felt mild satisfaction before panic set in again. The grasp on the ankle loosened however a sharp blow was delivered to her abdomen causing a shot of pain to spread through her, before she could even anticipate the next move she felt cold fingers around her throat slamming her against the wall three times sending a piercing pain through her skull. Well, this was it. This is how she would die.

No matter how desperately she clawed at the hands against her throat they didn't seem to loosen and she felt weaker by the second. Her eyes drifted shut as a loud voice rang through her mind. _You have to strike the most sensitive part of the body. _If only she had known then that the humiliating hour would become useful at some point. Feeling a rush of adrenaline through her body she sent her kneecap into where she roughly estimated the groin to be. This whole fighting in the dark thing was a total nuisance. She felt the hands loosen by a fragment and sent another delivering blow, the moment she felt her knee make impact she pulled herself away before running out of the room still struggling to fill her trachea with as much oxygen as possible. Her arm ached where she had been wounded and her throat felt as if it were on fire, her legs wobbled beneath her and she was certain they would give away before she could even reach the elevators. As she turned the corner her body collided with a solid wall and felt arms grabbing at her shoulders. She yelped in surprise before pushing herself away from the person whilst covering her face with her hands, she felt too exhausted to fight.

"_Hey, it's okay. Felicity, it's okay I'm here._"

Felicity could barely register the sound of Oliver's voice as grasped at her chest fighting for air and to steady her frantic heart. She solidified as she felt his strong arms pull her closer towards his rigid body, he held her a slight distance away with one hand placed at the nape of her neck and the other on her cheek as he examined her.

"Are you okay?" he asked, Felicity was surprised to hear how the sound of his voice seemed completely unlike him. The tone of his voice was soft and there was something lingering in his voice, desperation?

Unable to bring herself to say the words, she nodded in an attempt to let him know that she was fine although she wasn't sure whether he could even see her in the dark. The arms pulled her closer towards him and this time he held her protectively against his chest. She winced as pain shot through her left injured arm but felt numb to everything around her, despite this she still felt mildly satisfied that she had fought back. She, Felicity Smoak had actually succeeded in escaping the raving lunatic.

"What's happening?!"

It was Barry. She heard Oliver mumble something she couldn't quite catch to Barry before he let her go and disappeared somewhere down the corridor. The next pair of arms around her were Barry's, they felt completely different to Oliver's but not in a bad way. The lights flickered on again causing Felicity to squint against the harsh intensity of the light.

"Felicity! You're hurt!"

"I'm fine," she told him finally finding her voice; she hated how incredibly weak and small she sounded.

"No, you're not."

"I'm fine, I just–"

A scream suddenly escaped her lips as she dropped down to her knees holding her head in her hands as she bent forwards with pain. Blinding pain seemed to take over her entire body, different to anything she had ever experienced before. The agony so powerful it blinded her, her head throbbed so badly it made the gunshot wound feel like a dull pinch at the back of her mind.

"What's happening?" she gasped fighting against Barry who was attempting to help her stand upright. Within seconds, Oliver appeared to be back again, she could hear the sound of his voice barking orders. She could feel him lifting her off the ground and cradling her against him as he walked briskly, under any other circumstance perhaps she would have been affected by the fact that she was in Oliver's arms but now she was consumed by the feeling that her head was going to explode. She could barely register Oliver whispering something soothing in her ears but even he couldn't hide the hint of panic in his voice making the dreadful feeling in her chest larger. She had no idea what was happening to her but whatever it was, it was bad.

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**Author's note:** Can I first of all just say that you all spoiled me with all the reviews last night, thank you so much. I just had to update once more this week to show my gratitude. PS. This is precisely what I meant when I said it motivates me to write more. I'd like to say that I whizzed up this chapter in the last hour so I haven't had a chance to properly proof-read it, my apologies if it has some errors (hopefully not).

Please leave your thoughts and comments, let me know what you like/don't like. Your theories and predictions of where this is going. Thanks again you're all awesome.


	5. Lies and Mistruths

**Author's note: **This may get confusing but I have now edited this chapter and added 800 words from the second chapter I posted today and combined it into one big file. This is due to the confusion it caused to have them separate. So on the first look you may think you have already read this, but check to the end of the chapter to ensure you haven't missed anything. Sorry for the confusion, enjoy the update.

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The distant sound of sirens and traffic stirred Felicity in her sleep; opening her eyes groggily she observed her surroundings trying to pin-point her location. The plain white walls were a far cry from the pink wallpaper that decorated her room and a strong smell of disinfectant filled the entire room. She was in the hospital. Scrunching up her nose she pushed herself up on her elbows wincing as pain shot through her arm. She had almost forgotten about her wound or rather had hoped that it had been a nightmare. Glancing around she noted all the bleeping monitors around her and the tubes attached to the veins in her arm and hand. Diggle was seated in the couch beside her bed reading the local newspaper intently, hearing her movement he glanced up his face lighting up as a smile enveloped his features.

"Felicity, thank god!" he exclaimed placing the paper on his lap turning his focus onto her. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I've just been shot," she responded attempting to tackle the non-existent playful angle of the situation since the reality was much more frightening. The mere thought of the man behind the mask sent a cold shiver all the way down her spine.

"Very funny, Miss Smoak. I'm serious, anything out of the ordinary?"

"Dig, I was just attacked by a psychopath who was trying to kill me and you're asking me if anything out of the ordinary happened?!"

Ditching the newspaper onto the small desk in front of him, he pulled himself to his feet briskly walking towards her with a stern expression. A cold feeling clammed over her chest as she realised that he was in no mood to be humouring her, he was seriously worried about something.

"What's wrong?"

Ignoring her question he bent down placing a hand on the edge of her eyelid as he examined her eyes intently.

"Diggle!"

Straightening himself he looked at her for a long moment with conflict clear in his eyes. " Nothing is wrong."

Felicity shook her head defiantly. "You're lying to me. It's my body; I have a right to know!"

He sighed heavily crossing his arms across his chest. "The bullet was laced with poison–but before you panic; you have nothing to worry about. Barry managed to find an antidote."

Swallowing down the wave of nausea and panic she lifted her gaze to meet his hoping she looked braver than she felt. Poison which would have explained the unbearable pain she had felt, the mere thought of it made her shiver uncomfortably.

"Did you get a look at the person who attacked you?" he asked after a moment, the tone of his voice taking a hundred and eighty degree turn as the previous casualness became replaced by a rage.

"No…he was wearing a mask but the fact that you're asking me implies that you haven't managed to catch the culprit, so they're out there somewhere. Probably planning the next time they can come and rip out my speen or something equally villainy." She paused briefly. "Is that even a word? Villainy? Oh god, this medicine has got into my head. As if it wasn't bad enough that I have a bullet hole in my body, I can't even construct a simple sentence," she babbled quickly only stopping between the sentenced to gulp a mouthful of fresh air.

To her dismay, Diggle was watching her with a wide smile his eyes crinkling in amusement as the anger fizzled away right before her eyes. She stopped in mid ramble narrowing her eyes at him.

"And what are you laughing at?" she pouted her bottom lip out moving to cross her hands across her chest and then thinking better of it.

"You," he laughed. "You've been out for days, limp and pale in this hospital bed so I think I've earned the right to be glad to see you vivacious again."

"Days? What?! That's impossible, I just–" she winced again as she had unwittingly leaned onto her injured arm again.

"Careful!" taking a firm hold of her right shoulder he adjusted back onto her bed. "You need to take it easy, the bullet didn't cut deep but it did sever some minor vessels."

"Okay nurse," she retorted rolling her eyes at him mockingly and Diggle thwarted her as she did as she was told. Deep down she appreciated the fact that he cared about her, the thought however provoked the nagging voice in her brain to query where Oliver was, and shouldn't he be here? Truth was, she had noted the surprising lack of his presence with a wave of disappointment the moment she had opened her eyes which only irritated her more. She shouldn't give Oliver this much power over her.

The door propped ajar and a nurse with blonde hair tied up into a bun walked in her face open and friendly. She wore a blue fitted uniform that was neatly pressed with the name badge "LAURA" on her chest. Smiling at them both she pointed at the clock above the door.

"I'm sorry to interrupt but the visiting hour is up. I'm sorry."

"I'll see you tomorrow." Diggle placed a kiss on her forehead before grabbing his jacket and paper and leaving with the nurse.

As the door clicked shut she felt her heartbeat speed up, she was afraid. They had left her all alone in this room vulnerable for any psychopath to break in and take her life as she slept, dismissing the thought immediately she took a deep calming breath murmuring several prayers under her breath. She was allowing herself to become hysterical, she needed to take control. Whoever that man was, he could be caught. Oliver would catch him, she was sure of it.

* * *

It was only the second conscious day in the hospital yet Felicity felt herself bursting with frustration. She no longer wanted to be stuck in this god forsaken hospital and couldn't see any reason as to why they were still keeping her here. She craved nothing more but to be back in her own bed, speaking to her own friends albeit the nurse Laura was extremely friendly. When the news finally came that she would be sent home the following morning, she jumped for joy (internally of course). Her arm had been propped across her chest into a sling that supported the weight of it making it a lot easier for her to move around and she had been administered a substantial amount of painkillers after she had asked in her loud voice.

A part of her however enjoyed being pampered by the people who cared for her who had sent her a million text messages and brought her boxed of chocolates to the hospital. By now, the entire city had heard about the incident which had made her temporarily the centre of media attention. On another note she had finally heard from Oliver who had sent her a very short "Get Well Soon" message but hadn't come to visit her along with her other friends. She shouldn't have expected anything more she figured. .

"Excited to go home?" Laura asked whilst adjusting her intravenous line cutting Felicity's thoughts off short.

"You have no idea," she retorted pushing her hand through her unwashed and incredibly tangled hair. She would have fun trying to brush through the knots when she got out of the hospital, that was for sure.

"I saw that boyfriend of yours again this morning," Laura said suddenly winking at her mischievously causing her cheeks to redden. She was talking about Barry who had come in to see her with a bunch of flowers that morning. She absently wondered to herself why he never bothered to come in and say hello, as she'd been bored out of her mind and would have rather enjoyed his company.

"He's not my boyfriend."

"Well perhaps he ought to be," she said firmly. "I'm not telling you how to live your life, but you'd be bat-shit crazy, pardon my French, to let that one go."

A laugh escaped her lips as she shook her head at the nurse whilst covering her face with her good arm. How would she explain herself out of this one? It wasn't that she wasn't interested in Barry, because she was. He made her smile and laugh and they were similar in ways that nobody else she had ever met was. The problem was Oliver, how could she allow herself to start a new relationship if she wasn't fully committed? If a part of her was drawn to the danger and adventure that came with being in Oliver's world? She sighed to herself tugging at her hair absently.

"I'm just not sure I'm ready for that kind of commitment yet."

Laura gave her a long incredulous look as if she had just admitted to robbing a baby elephant.

"What?!" Felicity exclaimed a smile tugging at the corner of her lips, despite the fact that she had known her for mere two days she had already grown rather fond of her.

"Look, I'm no genius on how these things work but if a man like Oliver Queen shows you interest you jump on that boat and you sail away to Great-Land or whatever they call it."

"Wonderland," Felicity corrected instinctively before realising what she had just heard. Did she just—

"What has Oliver got to do with this?" this time it was her turn to look equally baffled.

She watched impatiently as Laura picked up the medicine chart-board jotting down notes of what she had administered to her before she glanced up to answer her.

"He sat by your bedside the entire time you were unconscious. We couldn't get him to leave, rich people like him think they can get away with everything I suppose," she scoffed. "And it helps that he's incredibly handsome don't you think," she added with a wink before grabbing her trolley full of drugs and disappearing out of the room leaving Felicity flabbergasted and confused.

She had assumed that Laura had been talking about Barry, but she had meant Oliver. He had stayed with her throughout the three days she was unconscious? If that was the case then why didn't he just say so? Why hadn't he visited once he knew she was okay? She felt a mixture of frustration and anger, Oliver had become a close friend of hers but recently things between them had gotten awkward and she hated it. A heavy feeling settled over her chest and she knew that her mind would wander relentlessly all night leaving her sleepless. Damn you, Oliver Queen!

* * *

**Author's note:** Second chapter of the day/possibly week. I'm welcome to criticism and in fact I recommend it as I like to know what to adjust/change. Please leave your reviews and commentary. It's always welcomed :) No Oliver again, oops.


	6. Blushing Beauty

**Oliver's POV:**

Oliver let out a heavy sigh as he watched the Breaking News which was reviewing the investigation into the break-in at Queen Consolidated. They had concluded Felicity's role in the accident to be coincidental, that she had been at the wrong place at the wrong time but Oliver wasn't so easily convinced. If the people behind the attack had been coming after him then what had stopped them? He couldn't ignore the nagging voice at the back of his mind that warned him of the possibility that it hadn't been coincidental. That because of her association with him Felicity had a big target on the back of her head inviting anyone who had a vendetta against him to lash out at her. Leaning across the bar, he grabbed a bottle of whisky pouring himself a generous amount and draining it down in an attempt to wash away the feeling of unease that was beginning to grasp its way through his body. He sensed a presence of another in the room but before he had the chance to inspect a voice rang out across the room.

"I never had you down as a day drinker."

Laurel.

He turned to face her with a small smile playing on his lips his entire body changing its demeanour. She looked beautiful wearing a red dress that hugged her body and her brown hair tousled around her shoulders, despite the lightness in her greeting he sensed that something wasn't quite right with her and hadn't been for a while.

"It's been one of those days," Oliver responded honestly as he grabbed another glass cup and set it down beside his own before pulling out the stool next to his and patting it. He watched as she gingerly walked towards him and dropped her bag on the counter.

"That makes two of us," she gave him a brief look before picking up the bottle of whisky and tipping it backwards taking a long drink. His eyes widened as he watched as she removed the bottle from her lips, placing the bottle down she wiped her mouth swiftly. She moved with such confidence Oliver couldn't help but picture Felicity attempting to drink straight from the bottle; she would do it with such awkwardness followed by witty commentary. He could already see the way she would scrunch her face in disgust as the alcohol burned its way down her oesophagus, the thought brought a brief smile to his face. It was right there and then he promised himself to take her out drinking at least once.

"Ollie…"

Abandoning his thoughts he directed his attention to Laurel who was watching him quizzically.

"Huh?"

"I was just asking what it was that had you drinking alone during the day," she repeated watching him so closely he could almost feel her eyes burning through his soul.

Letting out a heavy sigh he picked up the bottle of whisky swinging it back before placing it back down and sliding it down towards her again.

"I've had a lousy week," he concluded dragging his hands through his hair in exasperation. "What's your excuse?"

"Life."

She took a drink.

"Laurel, if something is wrong you know you can talk to me. I'm always going to be here for you."

A sad smile played on her lips as her eyes turned glassy. "That's what Tommy used to say," she whispered shaking her head dazedly.

Oliver knew exactly how she felt; he'd often catch himself thinking about his best friend before the heavy remembrance of his death would come crashing down. Feeling at a loss for words, he stretched across the table and took her hand into his own feeling the smoothness of her skin against his own. The sense of familiarity with Laurel would eternally be there, she was his first love and that feeling would never dissipate. They remained as they were for what felt like an hour hand in hand with silence stretching out between them until his phone rang out. Glancing at the clock he gave her hand a last squeeze before setting down on the counter again as he grabbed his phone glancing at the screen briefly.

"I have to go," he said picking up his coat and placing his glass behind the counter.

"Can't you stay, just for a while?"

"I wish I could but there's something important I've got to do," he told her regretfully placing a hand on her upper arm before looking into her large hazel eyes. "Are you sure you're going to be okay?"

"Yeah, you go."

"Just close up behind you when you leave," he told her handing her a key before turning to walk out of the door. Turning to give her one last look, he dashed out of the door and towards his car.

**Felicity's POV:**

Boredom. Boredom. Exhastion Boredom. Boredom.

That's all Felicity had been feeling the entire day. She was supposed to have been discharged in the morning but the doctor who was in charge of the ward had decided to keep her until at least midday to her dismay. Last night after a long discussion of how she was beginning to lose the will to live, Laura had brought Felicity a copy of the fifty shades of grey with the instructions to read it. At first, she had regarded the book with disgust vowing to both herself and Laura to never touch such a novel but by the morning, her boredom had reached excruciating levels. Delicately she picked up the book before succumbing and beginning to read, by the afternoon she found herself fully engrossed in the book. Laura had walked in a few times laughing and teasing her. Desperate times call for desperate measures and all that she justified silently to herself.

"Your carriage is ready and awaits for your escape Miss Smoak."

Recognizing the voice immediately, Felicity dropped the book as if it had scalded her skin her eyes widening in horror as she was greeted by the sight of Oliver standing with his large frame blocking the door. Just as she made a move to shove the book under her covers or anywhere out of visibility for that matter Oliver's eyes landed on it. Oliver took three long strides reaching the bed she was sitting within seconds. Realising what he was about to do, she made a grab for the book but too late – Oliver picked it up quickly turning the book in his hands as he read the title. Felicity had always heard of the expression wanting the "ground to swallow you up" but had never completely understood it until now. She felt herself turn crimson as Oliver turned to look at her raising his eyebrows the amusement painfully clear in his eyes making her certain that she would combust right here, right now.

"You never fail to surprise me Felicity, that much is certain," he commented turning the laugh that escaped his lips into a cough.

"I wasn't reading—I was but not because I wanted to—I mean it isn't mine but—" she explained tripping all over her words whilst cursing herself silently for not only the entire situation but for getting so obviously embarrassed. She was hexed she concluded, how was it that the one time Oliver came to visit her she found herself caught in a situation like this.

"You guys ready? I've sorted out the discharge papers." Diggle interrupted walking into the room his hands neatly tucked into the pocket of his trousers. Stopping in his tracks he glanced at both of them curiously. "You both good?"

Oliver stood with his back to Diggle who was oblivious to the big grin that had formed in Oliver's face. "Yup. In fact, I think Felicity is feeling exceptionally well this afternoon."

Feeling the blood surging into her face again she picked up a pillow beside her with her good hand, narrowing her eyes at him as she hurled it towards him which he caught neatly in his hand before chucking it on the chair beside him.

"Uh…okay." Diggle watched them both looking dazed and confused before shaking his head at them. "I just spoke to the nurse and the doctor and they said you're free to go. I mean it's your head they were more concerned with than the graze but—"

Felicity couldn't catch the rest of what he said as it was in that moment she caught the sigh of Laura walking past the room. Noticing Oliver in the room Laura stopped mischievously giving her an exaggerated wink. Holding her breath, Felicity prayed that neither of the boys turned around to see her newly found friend in her insane antics. Laura pointed at Oliver before mouthing "Your very own Mr Grey" several times until Felicity understood what she meant causing her to further blush as if she hadn't done enough of that for one day. Grinning from ear to ear, Laura curtsied mouthing "my job here is done" before she walked away looking rather pleased at herself. Feeling flushed and embarrassed, she shook her head slightly knowing it was karma for ever picking up that goddamn book.

"We grabbed you a few clothes so if you want to get dressed we'll get going," Oliver told her tilting his head towards Diggles' feet where a white Louis Vuitton bag lay.

"Get dressed so we can get the hell out of here. We'll wait outside," Diggle added picking the bag and placing it on her bed before walking briskly out of the room.

She jumped out of the bed grabbing the bag and beginning to pull clothes out of it whilst consciously being aware of Oliver who was making a move to follow Dig out of the room.

"Felicity—"

She turned to look at him her big blue eyes watching him warily; she had no idea what the next few words that would leave his mouth would be. Things had become beyond confusing between them.

He looked at her earnestly all the humour that had previously filled his features absent. "I'm sorry. The person who did this to you was after me and yet again you found yourself in the middle of the firing line with something that didn't involve you."

Pausing, she placed the clothing she had begun pulling out of the bag back down looking at him suprised. He felt guilty for what had happened to her she realised, perhaps that had been why he had been reluctant to come and see her.

"It's not your fault," she told him firmly.

"Perhaps not but I'm still the reason you got hurt," he responded his voice soft as he took a few steps towards her making her feel highly aware of the distance between them.

"Oliver—"

"I will find whoever did this to you and make them pay. I promise."

Unsure of what to respond with, she settled for nodding at him with a small smile on her lips. He gave her shoulder a quick squeeze before leaving the room. She stood in that exact spot for a while her mind wandering relentlessly before she dismissed her thoughts with a brief shake of the head. She would drive herself insane if she began over thinking every word Oliver said to her, she was just glad that things were beginning to be not so awkward between them. It would suck if she lost him as her friend too. Grabbing a pair of jeans and a top in the bag she began to get changed.

* * *

**Author's note:** Okay so I think an apology is due for the lack of updating. I've been working myself to death along with revising so I've had no time to sit down let alone write up a chapter for you lovely people. That's all done now though. So in this chapter Fifty Shades of Grey met Olicity hehe, I hope you enjoy this it.

Remember, if you are reading this story please leave comments. It takes a seconds but means a lot and keeps me motivated. So review, review and review


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